Big names in property tax defaulter list, BBMP aims to mop Rs 231cr

These includes Leela Palace and Baghmane Tech Park in east zone, Accenture building and Golden Hills Square in Bommmanahalli zone, Nitte Meenakshi College and others.Aparajita Ray | TNN | June 26, 2016, 10:59 IST

BENGALURU: After high court order favoured BBMP to mop property tax from Manyata Tech Park that defaulted for many years, the corporation is in full sway to take down the big names in the city. Through a special survey, it identified 10 commercial properties that have to pay a total of Rs 231 crores of property tax for previous years to fill the coffers.

These includes Leela Palace and Baghmane Tech Park in east zone, Accenture building and Golden Hills Square in Bommmanahalli zone, Nitte Meenakshi College and Federal Mogul in Yelahanka, GE India in Whitefield and Chaitanya Properties in Mahadevapura, Orion Mall in west and Salarpuria in south Bengaluru.

The top defaulter is Baghmane Tech Park—a whopping Rs 91.67 crores it has to pay for the last financial year to BBMP. Followed by Chaitanya Properties (for Prestige Shantiniketan gated community) in Whitefield Rs 41.61 crores and GE India in Whitefield Rs 37.32 crores.

The revenue department of the Palike undertook this survey between February and April to dig out some of the big commercial set ups in six zones of the city and find out defaulters. “These owners have declared less property than they are actually housed upon in the Self-Assessment Scheme (SAS) online and paid less tax. But when we did the survey of the total built up area, we found huge gaps,” said BBMP officials.

M Shivaraju, taxation and finance committee chairman of the council said, “When Manyata tech park owners appealed high court, five other commercial property owners who were defaulters went to court seeking relief. But the high court’s decision in our favour empowered us and couple of such owners who were battling it out in the court paid their dues. The revenue department is now armed and this was just a sample survey.

Hereon, we will undertake such surveys throughout the year. These 10 names are reputed commercial set ups but they have defaulted payment in the last financial year. When we resurveyed we found that their parking areas, ramps built in the parking zones were discounted in the SAS but all that comes in the total built up area, which was not declared in the forms. We calculated the penalty and interest over the outstanding sum and reached at these figures.”

The BBMP has already collected Rs 1,037 crores through property tax and aims to mop up Rs 200 crores by June 30, the last day to pay up for the current financial year. In total, it has targeted to fill Rs1500 crores from property tax into its coffers.

What does the rule say

BBMP has powers under the Karnataka Municipal Act to send notices to defaulters, then await responses and finally if the defaulters do not pay up in the given time, to seize and sell their movable properties. If there are no movable properties, the defaulter has to pay the warrant fee and distraint fee as per the law and further if he/she cannot pay the distraint fee, the commissioner has powers to prosecute the defaulter before a magistrate.

BBMP is ready to pay Rs 140 crores to reclaim two iconic properties mortgaged with HUDCO against loans of Rs 2,400 crores for developmental works. These two buldings are Malleswaram Market and Rajajinagar RTO complex. “If we are able to pay Rs 40 crores in addition to this, then the Johnson Market can also be released,” said officials.